


The Wonderland League

by NoodIehead



Category: ATEEZ (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Angst and Humor, Cute, Drama, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, Feels, Fights, Flirting, Fluff, Gay, Good versus Evil, Hongjoong has a mullet because i said so, Humor, Jongho is grumpy but sweet, M/M, Maybe some nasty smut later on, Mind Control, Mingi and san have no powers, Mingi is the squad leader, Mingi is whipped, Organized Crime, Romance, Science Fiction, Seduction to the Dark Side, Seonghwa is mysterious and sexy, Smut, Superheroes, Woosan are evil lovers, Yeosang is a charmspeaker, Yunho and Jongho have super strength, Yunho is dumb but we love him, evil flirting, its good I promise
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-24
Updated: 2020-02-28
Packaged: 2021-02-24 16:13:44
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 7,766
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21940738
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NoodIehead/pseuds/NoodIehead
Summary: In a world of Heroes and underground crime organizations, eight young men fight, flirt, and maybe fall in love. Chaos ensues.orMingi, Jongho, Yunho, and Yeosang are a squad of Heroes called 4TB. They spend their days fighting the Wave, an evil organization that's taken over Korea. Hongjoong is the leader of the Wave, and Seonghwa is his right-hand man. Wooyoung and San work as an evil, sexy team.orIt's ateez as heroes and villains, what more could you want?
Relationships: Choi San/Jung Wooyoung, Jeong Yunho/Song Mingi, Kim Hongjoong/Park Seonghwa
Comments: 15
Kudos: 76





	1. Initiation Day

The Wonderland League's lights were on early this morning, light spilling from the towering building onto the sleepy cityscape of Seoul. Today was the day. The final test for the trainees, determining if they would become an official Hero or if all their work would be for nothing. 

Ever since being a Hero became an official profession, several companies popped up around the world dedicated to training young men and women in the art of saving the world, Korea's biggest company being Wonderland Inc.  
Not everyone was born with powers, and it took a few years and several lawsuits until non-powered individuals were allowed to join these Hero training programs, and even then they were taken less seriously and overall disrespected. 

An even bigger problem was the cost. Understandably, it wasn't cheap to learn how to be a superhero. Many desperate young people found that they couldn't afford to pursue their dreams... legally, at least. That's where the underground villain associations would snap them up, Korea's being the Wave. Whereas Wonderland trainees wear their badges and uniforms proudly, its nearly impossible to tell a Wave member from a civilian, which has put a permanent sense of unrest on the Korean people. Everyone knows that the Wave exists, but not even Wonderland knows who they are. 

However, that aside, today is the day. Today, four lucky young men and four women will be chosen from their respective classes and officially be instated as Heroes. Heroes at Wonderland work in squads, each with a leader and three other members of varying powers. Each squad is unique and several even have their own fanbases and merchandise, which is how the Heroes get paid.  
Training takes years, and by the end there are approximately twenty trainees left in each class. Only four will make it. 

"Wake up, Hos. It's the big day!" Boomed a voice from the doorway.  
Yunho and Jongho groaned in sync from their shared bunk bed. Jongho hoisted himself to his feet and said "Ready for action!" At the same time that Yunho rolled over and said "Please shut the hell up." 

The smaller Ho frowned at this and ripped the blanket off of Yunho. "Don't talk to Mingi like that, asshole. Now get up, it's Initiation Day you colossal moron."  
The tall blonde's eyes flew open at this. "Holy shit it's Initiation Day" he said dumbly. He sat up and slammed his head on the ceiling as he had done almost every morning for the past two years, recovered impressively quickly, and jumped to the floor. 

"Jesus christ Jjong, we have to get ready, hurry up! I wanna try and snag a practice room before the exam starts!" Yunho yelled as he scrambled around their room, changing out of his pajamas (boxers and very mismatched socks) and into the standard-issue Wonderland League uniform. Mingi stood in the doorway long forgotten by Dumb and Dumber, just observing them and wondering how they had made it to Initiation Day. Eventually he just shook his head and went to wake Yeosang.

"Heeey Yeosang... uhh, wakey wakey?"  
Mingi wouldn't lie, Yeosang made him kind of nervous. The petite, beautiful boy kept to himself most of the time, eating alone at mealtimes and he even had a private room which was basically unheard of. Mingi knew that he was a Charmspeaker and that he was very attractive, and that's about where his knowledge of the older boy ended. He awkwardly stood in Yeosang's doorway, rocking back and forth and wondering if he should try to wake him again or-

And then Yeosang was behind him, gently tapping his shoulder. "Sorry, excuse me, Song. Um, I need to get in there please." 

Mingi jumped and whipped around to look down at the boy, who was sweaty and already in his uniform. "Oh! Yeah, for sure, sorry man. I was coming to wake you up but I guess you beat me to it." He laughed nervously. Wow, that was a dumb joke.

Yeosang granted him a small chuckle for his effort at humor. "Um, yeah. I just wanted to get some extra practice in for the physical portion of the exam today, I'm not the best at combat and... you know."

"Yeah, I get it, totally." Mingi said, rocking back on his heels. "Well, since you're already up I guess I'll leave you alone now. Uh, see you there, dude!" He said with forced enthusiasm. He then promptly spun back around and power-walked in the direction of his room. 

Mingi himself was the only trainee in his class with no powers. He knew he had little to no chance of being one of the chosen four today, or ever. He had been a trainee since he was seventeen, and he was twenty now. He had incredible combat skills and was killer (literally) with a gun, but he just never had gotten his big break. Instead he focused his energy on helping his friends become the best they could be. No one was making him wake them up every morning, or help them train, or give them some of his food every meal because their rations "weren't enough". Mingi just had a huge heart and a desire to see those he loved succeed if he couldn't himself. Also, maybe he had a thing for Yunho. Like, a tiny thing for him. Maybe. 

That aside, Mingi was thrumming with nerves. If he didn't make it today, he wanted Jongho and Yunho to. Both of them have super strength, quite a common power but very versatile and useful. Almost everyone with super strength who has gone through the academy ended up on a squad. And if he had to pick someone else to make it today... honestly, that kid Yeosang would make a great secret agent. He was quiet and agile, and had an aura about him that put you at ease and on edge at the same time. Mingi was leaning against the wall outside his room, deep in thought, when Yunho came bounding down the hallway followed less enthusiastically by a bedheaded Jongho.

"Mingi! Wanna come train with us?" Yelled Yunho. "Me and little Ho wanna get in some extra combat practice before the exam!" 

Mingi nodded his assent and stood upright, "yeah, let me grab my helmet." Jongho trudged up and stood behind Yunho grumbling about "if I've told you once I've told you a million times not to call me little Ho"

Standing in front of his bathroom mirror, Mingi tucked his black-cherry colored hair into his combat helmet, preparing himself for failure for the third year in a row. He sighed deeply, then flashed himself a halfhearted peace sign before walking out to the awaiting Ho bros. As soon as he was out the door, Yunho took off towards the practice rooms yelling what sounded like "Let's clap some cheeks!" 

Mingi turned to Jongho. "Did he just-"

"Yeah he thinks it means 'let's kick some ass.' I've just never corrected him." 

"Of course. Of course he would think that." Mingi looked after the blonde with a fond smile, while Jongho looked at Mingi with a disgusted expression.

"Jesus, Song. You wouldn't like him so much if you had to live with him, trust me. It's honestly incredible how stupid he is." 

Mingi knew better than to think the grumpy brunette meant anything he was saying. Jongho and Yunho were inseparable, had been for years. So he just smacked him lightly on the back of the head and started walking.

"Don't talk about your brother like that, Choi."


	2. Practice Round

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys have an eventful practice round before the exam. People get shot, it's all fun and games.

Once they were in the practice room, they started fiddling with the control panel, choosing their weapons and playing field. Because Wonderland was such a big company, they could afford some really badass equipment. Each practice room could conjure up over 30 different digital battlefields and trainees fought each other with holographic weapons, the whole thing worked a lot like laser tag.

Both Jongho and Mingi chose guns, while Yunho chose a huge sword. The blonde chose a different weapon almost every time, claiming that nothing ever "spoke to him". On the other hand, Jongho had used a gun during his first session and never went back. The boy was a real natural, Mingi thought, watching him warm up. 

They split up as they usually did, the two Hos against Mingi. At the push of a button, a crumbling metropolitan landscape blinked into existence. A pleasant female voice told them, "Begin combat in three, two, one-"

And then they flashed into action. Yunho charged straight into the middle of the battlefield as Jongho ran in front of him, prepared to protect his partner. Mingi hid behind a collapsed building, listening to their footsteps get closer. Once they were within several feet of him, he jumped up and scaled the rubble, gaining an advantage over the other two. 

"Remember, never let your enemy gain the higher ground!" Mingi yelled at them.

Jongho yelled back, "Stop lecturing us in the middle of a battle!" And then proceeded to shoot at him wildly, the dark redhead slamming down onto his stomach to avoid the barrage. Mingi groaned and adjusted his helmet before standing back up and taking off across the rooftops, followed by Jongho's gunfire.

Suddenly, he heard a noise behind him and realized Yunho was on his tail, chasing him and swinging that bigass sword. Mingi stopped in his tracks and let him catch up a little, leveling his rifle and aiming at the chest. Yunho was just steps away, close enough to slice his head off, when suddenly Mingi was ducking and sweeping his foot in a wide arc, knocking Yunho on his ass. The redhead kicked his sword off the roof and planted a foot firmly in the middle of Yunho's chest.

"You have to pay attention to your enemy's every move. Including, but not limited to, their feet. Do better." He said before cocking his rifle and shooting him three times in the chest. He then stepped off Yunho and helped him up as the voice declared "Yunho Jeong has been killed by Mingi Song" 

"And if you'll excuse me, now I have to kill your partner." Mingi winked at the blushing blonde and gave him a small salute before stepping off the roof and landing in a crouch on the street. 

When he landed, he saw a gun thrown carelessly a few feet away. Confusedly, he walked towards Jongho's abandoned weapon lying on the ground. He looked around for the younger, wondering what the hell he was up to. "Jongho? Did you give up?" 

Suddenly he heard a loud crunching noise and looked up to see Jongho rolling a huge piece of rubble off the roof and onto Mingi's head. He tried to leap out of the way but the holographic boulder hit his right leg which caused the sensor on his uniform to flash red. "Mingi Song's leg broken by Jongho Choi." Damn. Shit. The magnets in his suit held his leg to the ground, rendering it useless.

Jongho jumped off the roof onto the boulder and then to the ground. "It was nice knowing ya, Song. Say hello to my little friend!" 

He picked his weapon back up and strolled towards the incapacitated redhead, stopping to flash a thumbs-up at his partner who was sitting on the edge of the neighboring building, swinging his legs over the edge of the roof and watching the whole thing intently. "That was badass, Jongho!" He yelled encouragingly.

At the same time, Mingi hooked a finger on his gun that had gone flying and slid it towards himself in one swift movement. He twisted around and didn't even bother using the viewfinder, nailing the brunette right in the head on his first try. Jongho's suit flashed red. "Jongho Choi killed by Mingi Song. Red team wins."

"Never, ever let your guard down." Mingi reprimanded as his leg was released and he stood up, walking over to knock Jongho on the back of his helmet. "And stop with the monologues, you would've gotten me if you hadn't introduced me to your 'little friend.'"

"Jesus, stop hitting me!" Was all the younger had to say.


	3. Cool and Secretive

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mingi is the only one with braincells

"Sorry Jjong, but you know I'm right," Mingi said matter-of-factly. The city around them blinked back out of existence as did their weapons, leaving them standing in the middle of the near-empty room. Yunho fell to the ground from where he had been sitting on the roof and cursed loudly. He stood up, rubbed his ass and apologized to it. "You poor thing. You've been through so much today." He stretched and looked up towards the observation window. 

"Oh, hey, it's Yeosang!" He yelled. 

The other two snapped their gazes upwards as well, and sure enough the small wavy-haired boy was standing there, watching them shyly. Yunho waved wildly at him, and Yeosang returned the gesture with a small wave of his hand before turning and speedwalking away.

"I like him. He's so cool and secretive, " Yunho said. "Like a kitten."

Jongho looked at him incredulously. "That's the two words you would use to describe a kitten? Cool and secretive?"

While those two started arguing over the correct adjectives for a kitten, Mingi was still staring out the window, suddenly hit with a feeling that he should've done more to help Yeosang, gotten to know him better, helped him train. He wondered how often the boy had stood there, wanting to be included but too nervous to ask.

He felt guilty.

The redhead looked down at his watch and saw that there was still forty-five minutes until all the trainees had to report to the examination hall. He would miss breakfast, but...

"Hey guys, as much as I'm enjoying hearing you argue about cats, I think I'm gonna go find Yeosang."

"Yeah, go ask him why he was watching us," said Jongho, arms crossed, eyebrow raised. "He's creepy, dude. Seems more like someone for the Wave than for the League."

Yunho hit him on the back of his head. "Hey, man, Kang is a nice kid. I know you hate everyone, but... chill out."

Rubbing his now very sore noggin, the brunette rolls his eyes. "Why is my head such a target today? You're gonna give me a concussion and I'll fail the exam today. Is that what you freaks want?" He grumbled, though it was obvious by his blush that he felt bad about what he said about his classmate. 

"We know you're stressed today, little Ho. It's okay." Yunho said, wrapping him in a tight hug and patting his head. "Your head is just so ridiculously round, it's very smackable." Mingi joined the hug and they rocked back and forth a couple times, a moment of calm before the storm that is the initiation exam.

Mingi let go first, walking backwards as he talked, "Really, though, I am gonna go find Yeosang. I wanna ask him something." He turned around and jogged to the door, and moments later the other two saw him sprinting past the window, helmet tucked under his arm and dark red hair flying wildly.

Mingi was out of breath by the time he caught Yeosang on his way to the mess hall. "Yeosang! Hey, Kang!" He yelled, gasping for air. The small boy turned around nervously.

"Hi, Song. Um, if this is about earlier, I'm really sorry-"

"No no no no-" Mingi heaved another breath "- no, its- it's cool, I just wanted to ask you... do you want some combat help, just, real quick? Like, a cram session before the exam?" He looked at Yeosang, who was standing with his hands tucked to his chest, curling in on himself. He just stared at the redhead, looking confused.

"It's okay if you don't, I just wanted to offer-"

"Thank you." Came the small whisper. "Yeah, I would really like that."


	4. Into the Lion's Den

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Please enjoy "Mingi and Yeosang Stab Each Other" and other touching moments!

The pair took off in the direction of the practice rooms, both knowing that time was of the essence. Mingi shoved his helmet on and ushered Yeosang into the room, but the smaller boy looked scared and hesitated to enter.

"What is it, what's wrong?" Mingi asked, trying not to sound annoyed. 

"I don't have my helmet."

The redhead paused, because honestly he didn't want to put Yeosang in any danger but they would barely have any time if they went back to his room- oh. Oh, that's an idea.

Mingi took off his own helmet and plopped it down onto the golden-haired boy's head. "There. You okay now?" He asked gently. 

"Are you sure? It's dangerous for you not to have one."

"I trust you not to kill me," Mingi said.

Yeosang gave himself a couple thumps on the top of the helmet, then shook his head a little. "Yeah, seems secure." He said. Then, more quietly: "Thanks, Song."

"Of course, Kang. So what do you wanna work on first?" He asked as he pressed buttons on the panel, punching in his ID number and then scanning his and Yeosang's hands as they talked. "Mingi Song and Yeosang Kang identification approved," said the voice. 

Yeosang thought for a moment as Mingi selected a flat grassy plain for them to practice on and watched as it appeared before him. "I'll learn anything you can teach me." He said.

"Alright, then I'll go over the basics of hand-to-hand combat and then we can practice with some weapons." He gave Yeosang a once-over. "Uh, what do you usually fight with?"

"My voice," Yeosang sighed, "preferably. But when I have to, I use a knife." 

"Knives it is," said Mingi, and he tapped a few more buttons and typed a few words and then there were two simple, holographic knives in each of their hands. "Set these down for now, let me teach you how to fight."

A few minutes later, the two lay on the ground laughing, both sweaty and out of breath.

"Yeosang, you're a natural! How are you so strong?" Mingi said breathlessly. "You're like, tiny!"

Yeosang laughed, covering his face with a hand. "Um, well I work out a lot. More than people think. And, you know, I watched you practice so much... I guess I learn by observation." 

"Yeah, that must be the case. You're really, really good, Kang. I'm sure you'll do well today." The redhead groaned as he sat up and rolled his neck, and Yeosang was quick to get on his feet and help Mingi up. 

"Thanks, Song. I hope I do." He said with a truly grateful look in his eyes. "And I hope you do, too. You deserve it the most out of anyone in our class."

Mingi was struck by that, and a wide smile formed as he picked up the knives and passed one carefully to his partner. (if it was Yunho or Jongho he would've thrown it full-force) He patted the top of the older boy's helmet. "I don't know about that, but thank you. Now, let's stab each other."

As it turns out, Yeosang was quite skilled at armed combat as well. He wasn't quite on Mingi's level, but then again no one in the academy was quite on Mingi's level. The shorter boy was quick on his feet and a fast learner to boot. He took Mingi's corrections in stride and soon was sparring like an expert. Suddenly, an announcement rang out through the speakers: 

"All students second-year and above are to report to the examination hall immediately. Repeat, all students second-year and above report to the examination hall." 

The boys looked at each other, adrenaline suddenly rushing through both of them. "Well, this is it," said Mingi.

"Yeah, I guess it is."

They left together and hurried towards the hall, having to part ways upon arrival because the check-in lines were alphabetically sorted. "Well, I gotta go." Mingi said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Cause I'm an S. So, um, good luck, Yeosang. Really, I think you'll make it."

"Yeah, I'm with the Ks," was all the golden-haired boy said. He was a few steps away before he turned back around. "Oh! And thank you. For, you know, all of this," he gestured around vaguely, "I really appreciate it. Really."

Mingi gave him a double thumbs-up and a warm smile, then took off jogging to his line. He looked around and spotted Jongho in the first line, looking pale and nervous, and Yunho in the same line as Yeosang, bouncing up and down with anticipation. 

"Mingi Song?" Came a voice from beside him.

"Huh? Oh, yeah that's me."

"Please scan your palm and continue to the waiting area."

"Sure," he said absentmindedly, pressing his hand to the screen presented to him. The machine gave a beep of approval and he moved forward. 

Into the lion's den.

Yeah, I guess this is it.


	5. This is Real

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I kinda wrote a lot today, so Merry Christmas from me! Enjoy Mingi having an existential crisis :)

Mingi was nervous. Not for himself, he knew he was sure to fail again and stay another year, but for his friends. It was their first year taking the exam and he knew firsthand how nerve-wracking and difficult it was. Of course he had faith in them, but you needed more than faith to make it past this grueling examination. 

Every year's test was different from the last, so there was no way to cheat. The past two years Mingi had faced some crazy stuff, including having to rescue hologram "civilians" from the wreckage of a simulated nuclear bomb blast. He knew that the Korean people were trusting the Heroes that came out of this academy to protect them, and Wonderland would do their damn best to make sure only the best of the best made it through. 

Statistically, Mingi was the best of the best, but he didn't have any powers. Individually he excelled, but pitted against his classmates who had super strength and speed and stamina, he didn't quite match up. At least, that's how the people in charge saw it. Mingi observed his fellow trainees with a calculating eye. 

There was Son Hyunwoo, who could summon and control fire. Very powerful, but always hesitated to use his powers because he didn't like to hurt people. Fail.

There was Min Yoongi, who could read minds. He was a cool dude, but way too laid-back and his power wasn't quite useful enough to justify his lack of combat skills. Fail.

Mentally, Mingi evaluated everyone in the room. There was twenty-two of them, and he decided that only seven of them would even be considered for a squad. And among those seven were Yunho, Jongho, and Yeosang.

And me, he thought bitterly. But I'm the only one who thinks that.

Once everyone had checked in, the exams began. Initiation Day, Mingi decided, had to be the longest and most boring day of the year. Worse than Spring Cleaning day, worse than bootcamp. Everyone had to take the exam individually, and there was only one room big enough to give the test in. Each exam took at least thirty minutes, but two years ago someone took over an hour. They didn't even make the squad. 

Soon, he perked up when he heard:

"Jongho Choi, please report to the examination room."

He looked around for his best friend, who locked eyes with him immediately. Jongho was the image of fear. Mingi gave him a huge toothy smile and a thumbs-up. Jongho just looked sicker. Slowly, he turned and trudged toward the huge room where his fate as a Hero would be determined. 

About ten minutes later, a loud crashing sound reverberated throughout the hall. Exclamations of "what the hell?" and "Jesus on a stick!" were heard. Mingi got worried, wondering if Jongho had squandered his chance to achieve his lifelong dream. He wouldn't get to know until after all the exams were over, once you took it you were sent to a holding room so that no information about the exam's contents could be leaked. 

He waited, on-edge, as the next trainee was called, and the next, and the next, until Yunho was called. The blonde yelled, "wish me luck, everyone!" And then ran towards Mingi, arms outstretched. Yunho tightened his arms around the redhead and gave him a squeeze before pulling back. "Thanks for being the best friend and teacher I could ask for. I'll do well for you, I promise." 

Then he took off again, and Mingi smiled after him, hoping to god that he would do well and not let his clumsiness get the better of him. 

Directly after Yunho was Yeosang, who gave Mingi a wave before striding confidently towards the exam room.

Hours later, it was Mingi's turn. He sighed and prepared himself to be disappointed. Making his way past the remaining trainees and into the huge dark exam room, he cleared his throat nervously and rolled his neck, waiting for the voice-

"Mingi Song, welcome to your Initiation Exam. Are you prepared to perform to the best of your ability?"

"Yep."

"Do you solemnly swear that you have received no help or outside information regarding the contents of the exam?"

"Oh, so solemnly." He said, rolling his eyes. He knew this was prerecorded and that no one was listening to him yet. 

"Very good. Your exam will begin in one minute, please follow any instructions that are given to you. Good luck."

"Thanks, disembodied voice." He muttered sarcastically. 

The exam began rather normally, with a classic hostage situation. Mingi took out the Wave agents and rescued the civilians in about eight minutes, record time. He had just carried the last person out of the building when the holograms blinked away, leaving him alone in the empty room. Next was target practice. He was waiting for his gun to materialize when the voice said, "please wait by the chute to receive your weapon."

What? This was new.

Out of a little metal chute in the wall came a gun. A real, actual gun made of real metal and loaded with real bullets.

"Holy shit." He breathed. It was gorgeous, and heavy, and almost nothing like the holograms he was used to. This was probably the closest he'd get to real field combat, and he was gonna enjoy this.

It took him a moment to adjust to the different feel of the weapon, lifting it a few times to look through the viewfinder and testing its weight. Yeah, this would do just fine.

"Take down the enemy targets. You have three minutes." Said the voice, and a neat row of practice dummies was rolled in by an employee. 

"Easy enough," he said to himself, and cocked the rifle. 

A minute later, all of the dummies had perfect, round holes through the heart and head. Mingi stood holding the weapon, dumbstruck. That was the first time he had shot something and it had actually... done damage. Not just a flashing red light, but a real, physical hole where the bullet passed through solid matter. If he shot someone with this, it wouldn't be like Yunho or Jongho in the practice room this morning, it wouldn't be "oops, you got me!" 

It would be death. 

Suddenly he felt the weight of the instrument he was holding. Now he understood its power, and why only the best of the best were allowed to wield it.

All of his motivation and ambition that he had lost long ago came rushing back all at once. I want to be a Hero, he thought, I DO care if I fail today. This is my dream, my passion, and I'm gonna make this test my bitch.

All of these thoughts flooded his brain rapidly, and he felt a bit overwhelmed, but the voice was back, what's it saying? What's he doing?

"- to the next portion of the exam."

Oh. The written test. Okay, he could do this, totally. He exited the room and sat at the single desk in the next room over. He flew through the test, he had known the answers to these questions for three years now, he might as well teach the classes. He slammed down his pen and stomped out of the room, immediately finding Jongho and Yunho.

The friends shared a hug and a sigh of relief, and then the questioning began.

"How was it?"

"You guys okay?"

"Am I the only one that they gave a giant hammer to and said 'go crazy'?"

They all looked at Yunho. 

"Uhh, yeah dude, I think so." Said Jongho. "Also, theres no way they actually said 'go crazy.'"

"I'm paraphrasing."

Mingi sighed. "Guys. They gave me a gun."

"Cool, Mingi." Jongho drawled.

"No, you ass, I mean a real one. They had me do target practice with a real rifle." He said emphatically. He looked back and forth between his best friends, whose mouths were open in twin Os.

"You're shitting me," Jongho said at the same time that Yunho reached forward and grabbed Mingi's shoulders, shaking him slightly.

"That's a huge deal, Min. Like, huge." He said, raising his eyebrows and making his eyes go wide so that Mingi understood just how "huge" it was. The redhead just rubbed the back of his neck and laughed.

"Thanks guys. I'm just hoping I did something right, you know?" He shrugged, still trying not to get his hopes up. They sat and talked for a while, and Yunho rested his head on Mingi's shoulder, which made his heart beat faster than it had during the exam.

Just then, Yunho spotted Yeosang through the crowd. "Hey, Kang!" He shouted. 

The small boy's head snapped up, and he hesitated a moment before making his way towards them. They widened their little circle to accommodate the charmspeaker, and surprisingly Jongho was the first to speak:

"How'd you do, man?" He asked. He glanced at the other two, silently saying "See? I can be nice."

Yeosang grinned, looking down bashfully. "Well, actually I think I did pretty okay." He said softly. 

"You're about to find out." Jongho said, watching the last person leave the testing room. Mingi had been towards the end, and they always announced the new squad almost immediately after testing ended. Kept them in suspense long enough, they might as well cut to the chase.

"Attention Wonderland League trainees, congratulations on completing your Initiation Exams! Please look to the screen and meet your new squad."

The four friends stood and craned their necks, blood pumping with adrenaline. Without thinking, Yunho reached out, grabbed Mingi's hand and squeezed. Yeosang screwed his eyes shut. Jongho stood completely frozen, eyes trained on the screen.

"First we have two trainees who we found to have excellent chemistry on the field. They will work as a team within the squad, and we believe together they will help to make Korea a safer place. Please congratulate Jongho Choi and Yunho Jeong!"

The two looked at each other as applause erupted around them, and then they shared an embrace that spoke a thousand words. They were brothers from other mothers, partners for life, and now living their dream together. Mingi felt relief and elation rush through him, and as Yunho ran straight into his arms he knew, yes, this was the best moment of his life.

And suddenly the screen was talking again and everyone went dead quiet.

"This next trainee not only has considerable combat skills, but an incredibly impressive talent that we found would be immensely useful for covert missions. We hope you will welcome him, the third member of Wonderland's newest squad, please congratulate Yeosang Kang!"

And suddenly Yeosang was nowhere to be found, because he was being completely crushed by the towering frames of Mingi and Yunho. Once they let go, Jongho reached around and gave him a solid pat on the back. "I'm excited to work with you, Kang."

Yeosang himself looked dazed, but there was a definite smile on his face. All he said was, "I can't believe it," as he stared down at his shaking hands.

"And for your squad leader... this trainee has shown immense natural talent in all areas, from hand-to-hand and armed combat to his mental prowess, as well as an instinct to lead and teach. We believe that appointing this young man as squad leader is in the best interest of not only the Wonderland League, but of Korea as a whole. Please congratulate Mingi Song."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please comment!!


	6. We Made It

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our squad celebrates, but some sinister figures are already planning their demise.

No way.

No way did they just call his name.

He froze, astounded, as his three friends- now squadmates- engulfed him in a bone-crushing embrace. He faintly heard people yelling, clapping, celebrating, but didn't register any of it. Then he locked eyes with Yunho, who was looking at him like he had hung the moon and stars.

"You did it!" The blonde cried, eyes brimming with happy tears. He placed his hands on Mingi's shoulders. "You did it. WE did it. God, I can't believe it-"

And then Mingi wrapped his arms around Yunho's waist, pulling him into a kiss. The blonde made a little surprised sound, and then leaned into it, wrapping his arms around the redhead's neck. The trainees whistled and hollered, clearly entertained. Yunho smiled into the kiss and Mingi tightened his grip on the other's lean waist before pulling back and looking him in the eye.

"I'm sorry, I've just wanted to do that for so long." He said apologetically. 

"Its okay," Yunho gasped, "it's okay. But we are gonna have a serious talk later," he said. Yunho was rarely serious, and this was one of those times. Mingi nodded, blushing. 

"If you two are done with... whatever just happened... we have some things to attend to," came Jongho's voice.

Oh, right. The whole Becoming Heroes thing wasn't just a one-step process. They still had to register, and get their official Hero names and weapons and then... their first assignment. Mingi's heart thudded with excitement, wondering what was in store for him. He led the way, leaving Yunho blushing behind him for the second time that day. His three squadmates trailed behind him, pushing through the small crowd and receiving thumps on the back and fist bumps as they went.

A guard appeared to escort them to one of the meeting rooms, where they would get all their cool new equipment and- most excitingly- their official Hero names. It was a little cheesy, but it was tradition. Most of the time, the names were actually pretty cool. Although there was the legend of the trainee a few years back who got named "Whizzer." A shudder ran through the redhead, hopefully he would get something badass, or at least just... not terrible. 

They were escorted into the meeting room and sat facing a screen. The guard left, and the four were silent for a moment before Yunho said, "So is something gonna happen or-"

"Welcome, students!" Boomed a voice from the television, just loud enough to be too loud. "And congratulations, by the way." 

There was a charismatic-looking man on the screen now. The headmaster. Mingi recognized him from the ads they showed in the cafeteria that bordered on propaganda: "Trust Wonderland! For the good of Korea!"

Anyway, now he was almost-yelling at them enthusiastically, going on about how much of an honor it is to be one of the select four, et cetera, et cetera.

Then the parts they really wanted to hear. The four friends sat up straighter as the man on screen said, "and now, your squad name. I know you're excited, so I'll cut to the chase now." He took a deep breath and smiled at them.

"You're squad 4TB, or 4 the Best. It's kind of a pun, because there's four of you, and... you know." He said, waving his hands around in a 'moving on' kind of motion. "Very cool name, in my opinion."

"And now your individual Hero names." He smiled again and looked at Mingi. 

"Welcome to the agency, squad leader. Also known as... Songbird."

Mingi couldn't help but break out into a huge smile and look around at his friends excitedly, like a kid on Christmas. All of them smiled back at him with awed expressions. 

Yunho nodded enthusiastically. "That's so badass, Mingi! Seriously, so cool."

Jongho gave a thumbs up and an appreciative nod of his head. "Ditto, man. That's awesome." 

Yeosang just said "wow," with a grin plastered on his delicate features.

The headmaster then grinned at Yunho. "I think you'll find this name fitting... Blitz."

Yunho pumped both his fists in the air. "Hell yeah! Anything is better than Whizzer!" He yelled, dishing out high fives all around.

"Jongho, I've decided to give you a name complementary to your partner, but still uniquely you. How do you feel about Blaze?" The headmaster raised an eyebrow at the brunette.

Jongho just pursed his lips and nodded again. "Yeah, that's cool," he said, but his friends could sense his excitement. 

"Last and most certainly not least, Mr. Kang, you are to be known as Myst. With a 'y', cause its cooler."

Yeosang's eyes lit up. 

"That is so fucking cool." He said.

Yunho whipped around to face the elder. "Holy shit he just cussed," he said in a half-whisper. Yeosang blushed.

"Sorry."

Everyone else just laughed. Even the headmaster allowed himself a small chuckle. "Okay okay, I know you're excited to get your first assignment so I'll wrap this up. Time to reveal your official, signature weapons."

Their attention was once again on the screen, listening raptly.

"Songbird, you'll use a gun. I feel like that might've been obvious but... you've got serious skills, kid. Use it well."

"Blitz, this is a bit out of the box, but I have the nerds in the tech lab working on making you a huge hammer. With your power, it's an ideal weapon for you. I think you'll really like it."

Yunho's eyes went wide with understanding. "That's why they just told me to go crazy."

"Again, that is definitely not what they said."

"I'm PARAPHRASING, Choi!"

The headmaster raised a hand. "Come on boys, no fighting first day on the job." The Hos muttered apologies and looked back at the screen, but not before Yunho stuck his tongue out at Jongho. 

"For Blaze, once again, your weapon complements your partner's and will make for excellent and hopefully easy teamwork on the field. Son, you're getting a stun gun. It's big, it's powerful, and if you'll excuse my language, it's pretty badass."

Then Jongho smiled widely. "Oh, awesome." He said.

"And Myst, I know your voice is your most powerful weapon, but we're getting you some knives just in case. They're light and perfect for hand-to-hand combat or for throwing. So, uh, I suggest you learn how to throw knives," he said with a smile. Yeosang nodded.

"Yes, sir, absolutely." 

"I like the attitude, kid. Keep it up."

And with that, they were dismissed. The screen blinked off and the four sat in silence yet again until a quiet voice pierced the room.

"This is really happening, isn't it?" Yeosang said with a small laugh. 

"Yeah dude." Jongho said. Then he laughed too. Soon the four of them were all cackling uproariously, saying stuff along the lines of "it's real, guys, we made it" (Mingi) and "we are gonna clap so many cheeks" (Yunho).

They calmed down and wiped the tears from their eyes, filing out of the room and walking down the hall with arms slung across shoulders. When Mingi reached up to put his arm around Yunho, he hesitated. They looked at each other for a moment before Yunho turned his head, laughing at a bad joke Jongho had made and tucking himself close to Mingi's side. 

Today was a perfect day. And they were only gonna get better from here.

\---

Miles away, Kim Hongjoong sat at his desk in Wave HQ, which doubled as an ice cream shop. He rubbed his temples and rolled his eyes as the cheerful music that was playing throughout the shop went on and on and on. Out of all places to choose for a secret evil lair, it had to be a fucking ice cream store. He could hear his buffoons of employees hamming it up for the customers, "thank you, and have a super duper day!" 

The bell dinged, indicating that the customers had left. Immediately, two sets of footsteps stomped towards the back room. Two very annoyed-looking men stood in the doorway, both wearing pink aprons and sour expressions. 

"Why couldn't you hire, like, other people to do the ice cream stuff?" Whined the blonde, Wooyoung. He crossed his arms and pouted.

"Yeah, King. This is humiliating," the other one, San, grumbled as he yanked off his apron and let his long hair loose from the hair net he had been forced to wear. His jet-black locks landed just below his shoulders, and he ran his hands through it a couple times before shaking it out.

"That was sexy, Sannie." Said Wooyoung with a smirk.

San winked at the blonde, lifting a finger under Wooyoung's chin and lifting it up. "Says you. Have I ever told you that you look great in pink?"

"Anyway." Hongjoong said, glaring at them. "Why would I hire other people to do it if I already have two employees who are perfectly capable, who have to do what I say anyway unless they want to be fired?" He sat back in his chair, eyebrows raised.

"Um, because-"

"Shut up, Woo," snapped San. "It was rhetorical. "

Hongjoong leaned forward again.

"I have some real work for you guys." He said. "Wonderland just announced their newest squad. I want them gone before they even have a chance of fucking with us." He looked at both of them in turn.

"Think you can handle it?"

The two smiled widely. "Oh hell yeah we can."


	7. A Match Made in Heaven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We meet our final character.

“So, what do you do for work?” asked the beautiful raven-haired man politely. It was her day off and she had met this wonderful man in a nearby ice cream parlor. They had taken an instant liking to each other, and he seemed shy and sweet. His smile was kind and unique, his voice gentle and his touch even more so. He was perfect.

If she had looked up in that moment, maybe she would’ve seen the coldness behind those dark eyes.

But she didn’t. 

“Actually, I just recently started training at Wonderland!” she gushed on and on, telling him all about the program, and he just kept asking questions. “How do you train?” 

“How many of you are there?”

“Anyone you think is gonna make it big? Someone to be the next pride of Korea?” he said with a smile.

And she was just eating it up. “Oh yeah! There’s this one girl and she’s just crazy powerful honestly, name’s Moonbyul and-”

She blabbered on, the man listening intently with mock interest, nodding and laughing at all the right places. It was a shame, honestly, he thought. A real shame. He laughed again, his eyes on her but his mind was somewhere else, imagining how he would do it. 

How he would get rid of her.

It’ll have to be quick, he thought, and quiet. But how?

She seemed to have finished her rant, and the man was done listening. He had everything he needed from her.

“Hey, I know the owner of this place, if you wanna see the back,” he offered. “We can probably sneak some free samples, too.”

“Seriously? Yeah, that’s so cool, let’s go!” she stood up, her chair legs scraping the ground in her excitement. She let this handsome mystery man lead the way, grabbing her hand and pushing past the swinging doors. It was cold back there, and a shiver ran through her.

“Sorry about the cold, but the freezer is right over here if you wanna see,” he said, gesturing to the large walk-in freezer. He opened the door and stepped inside, waving at her to follow. She wrapped her arms around herself to prepare for the temperature and followed him in, standing amongst the towers of ice cream tubs.

“Pretty cool, huh?” he whispered from behind her, his breath fogging in the icy air. She nodded, eyes wide as she looked around. 

“Yeah, it makes me feel like a little ki-”

And suddenly she was on the floor, blood pooling around her body and becoming crystalline as it hit the air. A few final, pitiful gasping sounds left her throat, which was gaping open, split side to side. The raven-haired man stood above her, bloodied knife in hand, listening to the thick, wet, drip, drip, drip, of the congealing blood pattering onto the floor. His face was completely neutral, a blank slate. He seemed to be surveying the body, as if he was curious about it. As if he wasn’t the one who just slit her throat.

Finally, he reached into his pocket and pulled out the recording device. 

“Investigation completed and subject terminated. Mission success.”

And then he walked away and shut the door behind him, leaving the girl’s corpse behind.

\--

Park Seonghwa didn’t expect to grow up and be an assassin. It just happened that way.

When he was 14, he finally realized what his power was. He could tell anyone’s darkest fear and deepest desire just by looking at them.

When he was 18, he went to college and met Kim Hongjoong, the pretty boy with crazy ideas of taking over Korea, overthrowing the hierarchy and defeating the Wonderland system, where only the rich had a chance. Over time, he had fallen for this boy with the crazy ideas. In fact, it wasn’t sounding so crazy anymore, maybe they really could do it. He became the first member of the Wave.

Hongjoong taught him how to harness his power, how to use it for their cause. He became an expert both in seduction and in the art of killing. Though he didn’t much like the idea of sleeping with anyone besides Hongjoong,he knew it meant nothing and was strictly to gain information. He would do anything for this boy he was in love with, this radical revolution leader with the face of an angel. Hongjoong was his King, and Seonghwa was his Raven. 

As Seonghwa pulled out his phone to let Wooyoung and San know, “There’s another one in the freezer and I need her gone by morning,” he reached up with his other hand and gently touched the delicate pendant that hung down to his sternum. He smiled to himself, knowing that Hongjoong had the other half. 

A match made in heaven.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooo this chapter was a lot more serious lmao I'm sorry it's short but take these crumbs


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